Knowledge, attitude and concerns about voluntary surgical conception among healthcare workers in Ibadan, Nigeria

SummaryA multicentre study was conducted among healthcare workers in three major hospitals in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were self-administered to different cadres of healthcare workers in these hospitals with the objective of evaluating their knowledge, attitude and concerns about voluntary surgical contraception. The study revealed that though they had a generally good knowledge of voluntary surgical contraception, their attitude and concerns about the procedure was not encouraging and were largely biased. Such beliefs among healthcare workers tend to negatively influence the uptake of the procedure in the general population, further depleting the low contraceptive use in Nigeria, which has only recently attained a percentage in double figures. Strategies and means to improve on this are discussed to encourage better uptake and acceptability of the procedure among the general population.